Miter-box



(No Modl.) v

L. H'. lOLMSTED.

MITER BOX.

laufe/2 NITED STATES u PATENT trice.

Nl ITER-BOX.

Fi?ECIlICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,455, dated April6, 1886.

Application died December 24, i885. Serial No. 180,647.

(No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnif'nnnr'r HOMER OLM- s'rnD, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Corona, in the county of Bergen and State ofSew Jersey, have invented a new and useful Miter-Box, of which thefollowing is a Specilication.

My invention relates to improvements in ruiter-boxes which are used bycarpenters and cabinetmakers to saw off moldings and boards at an angleof forty-five degrees, so that when the ends which are sawed are placedtogether the tw pieces will be at right angles to each other or forni asquare.

The usual method adopted in constructing niiterboxcs is to use threepieces -of board, one of which is used for a bottom. The other two aremade fast to the edges of the bottom board by screws or otherwise-#onebeing fastened to each edge-thus forming a frame. Two slots are thenmade in these upright side pieces at an anglev to its sides offorty-live degrees. These slots serve as guides for the saw. It isself-evident that miterboxes constructed in this manner will soon wearaway in the slots by the action of the saw.

The objects of my improvement are, first, to provide a ruiter-box theframe of which is made of wood, with guides for the saw made of iron orother suitable metal, second, to afford facilities for holding theruiter-box firmly on a bench or table without screwing it down; third,to provide means to prevent the upright pieces of the miter-box fromwarping from the action oi the atmosphere. I attain these objects by themechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which# Figure lis a top view. Fig. 2 is a side view.

Similarletters refer to si out the several Views.

The bottom plate, E, and the upright side pieces, D D', constitute theframe of the miter-box, the upright side pieces having slots in themdown to the bottom board, the slots being sawed at an angle offorty-iive degrees to their sides.

Upon the upper edge of each of the upright sides are secured pieces ofiron AA', the ends of which-are formed at an angle of forty-five degreesto these sides, and are placed in a poniilar parts throughsition closeto and to correspond with the slots in the frame. These irons areretained in position by the screws It and pins c. end of these two ironsare placed other irons, B B BL B3, one end of each being formed at anangle or" forty-live degrees, to correspond with the angle of the endsof the irons A A. These irons, when placed as described, form a guidefor the saw.

rlhe irons B B B2 B3 are made fast tothe upper edges ot the frame byscrews h. The apertures b, through which the screw passes, through theseirons,are elongated, so that they may be moved up to or from the irons AA for the purpose ol' adjusting the width of the space or slot betweenthe irons A A and B to fit any thickness of sawfblade.

When adjusted so that there is only -sufticient space between the ironsfor the saw to move freely, the saw will beheld ina perfectly uprightposition, and the saw cannot cut away the slots in the frame, the endsAol" these irons being made quite high and broad for this purpose, asseen at c b.

Vhen placing the saw into the slots in the miter-boX, the teeth of thesaw are always eutered below the irons.

Upon the upper edge and at onemend of each of the upright side piecesare securely fast ened irons C, andere for the purpose to serve asguides for the saw when sawing a square out.

r[he usual method used to form a guide for the saw in sawing a squareout is to make slots in the upright sides at right angle to the sides ofthe miter-box. By using the irons() for guides, the saw is placedagainst them, thereby making it more expeditions than to enter the sawin a slot, and admits of making the miterbox shorter and lesscumbersome.

The bottom plate, E, is extended out beyond the two upright side piecesa short distance at the end where the irons C are placed, for thepurpose of forming a support for the piece of wood which is being sawed,and to serve as a stop for the saw after it has passed through the wood.To one of the upright sides, and at each end, near the lower edge, areplaced two buttons, F F', which are used for the purpose when turnedvertically to forni a stop or catch when the unter-box is used near theedge of a table or bench, one hand being used to hold At each y theruiter-box down on the table, while the two buttons rest against theedge of it and prevent the miter-box from moving with the saw. Byturning the buttons horizontal the miter-box can be fastened down to anypart of atable or bench. Y

To the outside of the upright sides of the miter-boX are rigidlyfastened iron plates H, which serve the purpose of keeping the wood ofwhich the upright sides are vcomposed from warping.

The saw-guides A A may each be made in two separate pieces, and inmaking large niiter-boxes I do so make t-hem. When madein two separatepieces, the form of them is like the saw-guides B, Ste.

When the saw-guides A A are each made in two pieces, the aperturethrough which the ,Screw passes to fasten them to the miter-box may beelongated, like the saw-guides B, and be moved up to and from thesaw-guides B, thereby adj Listing the space between the iron to anythickness of saw-blade. l

I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to making the ends ofthe saw-guides at an angle of fortyive degrees, for I purpose to makethem at other angles for miter box frames which are made to saw at otherangles.

A sliding bolt can be used to push down below the bottom of themiter-box to serve as a catch or stop, and be pushed up when it isdesired to fasten the miter-box to any part of a bench ortablein placeofturning the buttons F.

1n the saw guides B, &c., the aperture through which the` screw passes,instead of being elongated, as shown atb, a round holelarger than thescrew with which the sawlguide is fastened to the frame can be iliade,which would serve the purpose of 'allowing them to be adj usted to anythickness of saw-blade. These i saw-guides can be attached to a metallicframe,

if desired.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A miter-box having angular slots, the upper walls of said slots beingformed of metal plates secured to the box and separated by a space lessthan the width of the slot below said plates, as set forth.

2. The combination,-with a imiter-box, as described, of metal plateshaving vertical extensions, as a I), secured to the upper surface of theslotted sides and having bearing-faces corresponding to the angle of theslots, as set forth.

3. The combination, witha miter-box, as described, of metal platessecured to the top or upper surface of the slotted sides, havingbearing-faces corresponding to the angle of the slots and arranged inpairs, and provisions for adjusting one plate of each pair toaccommodate 6o different thicknesses of saw-blade, as set forth.

4. The combination, with a ruiter-box, as described, having angularslots or kerfs,as shown, of metal plates having upward extensions andbearingfac-es corresponding with the angles of the slots, the saidplates being applied to the sides of the box and arranged in pairs toform bearing-walls to the slots, one plate of each pair having anelongated slot to allow of ready' adjustment, and a securing-screw, as.7.1, as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, with a miter-box, as described, having its baseextend beyond the ends of its sides, of metal plates C, secured to theends of said sides, and having vertical 75 bearing-faces c, arranged atright angles to the longitudinal plane of the box, as set forth.

6. The combination, with a miter-box, of foldingor otherwise movablearms carried at or near one edge of the box, and arranged to beprojected and engaged with the edge of a bench or table or to be thrownback within the` limits ot' the box at will, as specified.

L. H. OLMSTED.

Vitnesses:

FRANK A. OLusTnD, LENA GIEBNER.

